Cupressaceae
Cupressaceae Gray, Nat. Arr. Brit. Pl. 2: 222, 225. 1822. nom. cons.
Characteristic Features:
Plants trees or shrubs, monoecious or rarely dioecious (Juniperus).
Leaves simple, scale like and adpressed to branch, or needle like and spreading.
Male cones terminal, inconspicuous, microsporophylls spiral or opposite, few microsporangia attached to abaxial surface.
Female cones lateral or terminal, conspicuous,, megasporophylls with few to many inverted ovules on adaxial surface. Pollen with air bladders.
Seed with 2-3 lateral wings or wingless.
Diversity
World: 29 genera, 149 species (Christenhusz & Byng 2016); 29 genera, 150 species (Mabberley 2017); 30 genera, 166 species (POWO 2021); 30 genera, 135 species (Roskov et al. 2021); 25 genera, 154 species (The Gymnosperm Database).
India: 12 genera, 30 species (Singh & Srivastava 2013; BSI 2021)
Western Himalaya: 2 genera, 9 species (Khuraijam & Majumdar 2019; wild species only)
Uttarakhand: 3 genera, 8 species (Uniyal et al. 2007); 4 genera, 23 species (Tewari et al. 2010); 2 genera, 7 Species (Pusalkar & Srivastava 2018)
Systematic Position of the Family in Different Systems of Classification
Sporne 1974
Gymnosperms
Class- Coniferopsida
Order- Coniferales
Family- Cupressaceae
Cantino et al. 2007
[Phylogenetic and Rankless classification]
Tracheophyta
Euphyllophyta
Lignophyta
Apo-Spermatophyta
Spermatophyta
Acrogymnospermae
Coniferae
Cupressophyta
Cupressaceae
Christenhusz et al. 2011
Class- Equisetopsida
Subclass-Pinidae
Order- Cupressales
Family- Cupressaceae
Mabberley 2017
Gymnosperms
Subclass- Pinidae
Order- Pinales
Family- Cupressaceae
Simpson 2019
[Phylogenetic and Rankless classification]
Gymnospermae (Acrogymnospermae)
Coniferae
Cupressopsida
Cupressaceae
The Gymnosperm Database (Earle 1997-2021)
Gymnosperms
Subclass- Pinidae
Order- Cupressales
Family- Cupressaceae
Systematic Position in 2-Super kingdom 7-Kingdom Classification of Ruggiero et al. (2015)
Super Kingdom- Eukaryota, Kingdom- Plantae, Subkingdom- Viridiplantae, Infrakingdom- Streptophyta, Superphylum- Embryophyta, Phylum- Tracheophyta, Subphylum- Spermatophytina, Superclass- Gymnospermae, Class- Pinopsida, Subclass- Pinidae, Order- Pinales
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Platycladus orientalis(L.) Franco.
Vernacular name: Oriental thuja (English); Morpankhi (Hindi)
Nativity: Eastern China, Korea and Eastern Russia (POWO, 2019)
Common Characteristics: Small evergreen, coniferous tree. Leaves green, scale like. Young female cone blue- green in colour, subglobose, mature female cone red- brown, subovate.
Flowering period: March to May
Propagation Methods: Multiplied by seeds and hardwood stem cuttings (Dave’s Garden)
Photographed @ Garden Section